In Asia, spring rolls are either fresh or fried. I understand that in the northern hemisphere, fried spring rolls are called “egg rolls” even though there is no egg in the spring roll wrapper. I’ve seen videos where spring rolls are dipped in egg before frying — something not done in Asia — and that is probably why fried spring rolls have earned a reputation for being an extremely oily dish.
And that explains why baked spring rolls recipes started sprouting on the web — an obvious attempt to create a low fat version of a traditionally deep-fried favorite.
Well, you simply can’t make spring roll wrapper crispy unless it is cooked with oil. In the case of my baked apple spring rolls, melted butter did the job well.
During baking, some of the juices from the filling will seep out but don’t worry. The sugar will caramelize and even if the underside of the spring rolls get soaked with the juices, the caramelization will ensure that even the undersides are crisp rather than soggy.
Ingredients
- 2 Granny Smith apples
- juice of ¼ lemon
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 12 medium spring roll wrappers separated
- egg wash
- dark chocolate melted (optional)
- powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Line a baking sheet with non-stick paper.
- Peel and core the apple. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
- In a bowl, toss the apple with the kalamansi juice. Add the flour, toss and make sure that every piece of the apple is coated well. The flour will make the apple juice syrupy during baking.
- Add the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss to blend.
- Fill each wrapper with about two tablespoons of the filling. Wrap and seal well using the egg wash.
- Arrange the spring rolls on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle each one with melted butter.
- Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve by themselves or, for a bit of indulgence, drizzle melted dark chocolate and sprinkle powdered sugar over the baked apple spring rolls before serving.
